Game 2014.22: Tigers 4, White Sox 3.

Long time no talk. All these days off are making me wonder if it’s really baseball season. You know, the sport where there’s a game on 6/7 days. Always something to do? Ahh, memories.

The Tigers have played 21 games so far, fewest in the ML by 3, and 8 less than Arizona, who may be officially eliminated by June 1. This just means that there will be a bunch of day night double headers or 1 game series(s) in September.

Oh, and by the way, this is a two game set against the Pale Hose. When did we go to two game sets?

He also controlled Abreu…now it is up to the Pen to step up. They should be refreshed.

jud

April 29, 2014 at 11:13 pm

Good Job…a getting out of that!!

Only Tiger Fan in Mississippi

April 29, 2014 at 11:14 pm

Well done Joba! He likes the 8th! Let’s put one on the board and go home…YES!!!

Only Tiger Fan in Mississippi

April 29, 2014 at 11:22 pm

Austin Jackson you magnificant speedster!

jud

April 29, 2014 at 11:26 pm

Holaday ….hell ya!!!!!!

Vince in MN

April 29, 2014 at 11:28 pm

Holaday can’t throw, but he can bunt and he can run.

Smoking Loon

April 29, 2014 at 11:30 pm

Holaday! The squeeze at last! And then a delayed steal! Wow! They’ve gotta win this one. They just have to. I mean they really, really have to.

Only Tiger Fan in Mississppi

April 29, 2014 at 11:31 pm

Bottom of the line up for Joe. Will De Aza save face?

Smoking Loon

April 29, 2014 at 11:36 pm

Best game of the season. Hands down.

jud

April 29, 2014 at 11:36 pm

Quick get into the dugout and close and lock the doors!!!

Smoking Loon

April 29, 2014 at 11:39 pm

Are you saying they stole one?

Kevin in Dallas

April 29, 2014 at 11:47 pm

Wow.

Vince in MN

April 29, 2014 at 11:37 pm

Nice come from behind small ball win.

Smoking Loon

April 29, 2014 at 11:38 pm

A tip of the cap to Dayan Viciedo.

Only Tiger Fan in Mississippi

April 29, 2014 at 11:38 pm

Great game boys. The best game of the year. We went into the house of a hot team and took the game in the late innings. The win keeps the Tigers in first while in Chicago.

Only Tiger Fan in Mississippi

April 29, 2014 at 11:43 pm

You can put it on the board….YES!!!

Smoking Loon

April 30, 2014 at 12:12 am

I’ll have to watch the White Sox broadcast of the 9th inning tomorrow or soon. Looking forward to hearing the call on both Holaday’s squeeze and Flowers’s long out.

Kevin in Dallas

April 29, 2014 at 11:48 pm

Postgame updated above. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Smoking Loon

April 30, 2014 at 12:02 am

- So Verlander is the new (righty) Mark Buehrle. I’m fine with that.
- Wonder if that was improv by Holaday? Sounded like it.
- It’s not the BA. He’s not Miggy at .270 any more than he was at .206. 3-3 tie, facing bullpen dude, 1st pitch groundout to SS. Not Miggy. 1-4 tonight, hit in first was a ROE.
- Supposedly strike three was ball four. That’s baseball. Too close to take, as they say.
- Following up a win like tonight’s with another would be huge, but I’m not so sure. The bats have been known to let Max down, and the Tigers continue to scuffle phenomenally against starting pitchers,

Coleman

April 30, 2014 at 12:23 am

“Coleman April 19, 2014 at 3:58 pm
Maybe Holaday could hold a little bunting clinic, that was perfect.”

April 19th against the Angels, Holaday surprises everyone by leading off the inning with a bunt single, and ends up scoring a big insurance run in a 5-2 win. Holaday’s got this in his game. Enjoy it while it lasts, eventually opponents will start looking for it.

jud

April 29, 2014 at 11:49 pm

I know that throwing issue is huge, but Holaday has been solid…he is hitting…he can run…pitchers say he calls a good game…defense is fine….whats not to like…GWH…I mean GWB…

Smoking Loon

April 29, 2014 at 11:50 pm

Even a CS in the game, thanks to Worth. Not to mention the great effort that almost made De Aza pay for trying for 3B, great relay from Kinsler in particular. It’s nice to note these “almost” things in a winning cause. Seems like more often they occur to me as sliver linings in losses.

Tigers struck out 100 times against Quintana, 5 of the first 6 batters fanned, were in a 3-0 hole on a rainy evening, and they come back to tie it, hold the tie, and win it in the 9th, and even save it in the bottom half. Beautiful.

Flowers’s blast to deep center, though. Nearly went down the tubes. I don’t think I could have stuck around for the heartbreak if that ball had gone out.

Vince in MN

April 30, 2014 at 12:02 am

Perhaps we are seeing Verlander changing his pitching approach. It has to happen some day; he’s not a kid anymore and can’t be a fireballer forever. I think he can still bring it, but it seems like he is throwing a lot more off speed stuff now. Maturing and becoming a better pitcher in other words.

Smoking Loon

April 30, 2014 at 12:18 am

Getting strikeouts when he needs them, for sure. I’ll take more 7 and 8 inning outings. One feels a bit cheated by anything less from Verlander.

Kevin in Dallas

April 30, 2014 at 12:31 am

The velocity is way down, but he still may be tuning up. I plan to look into this more in another 5 starts or so.

If we end up with 90 wins and the Sox end up with 89…..this game was the difference!

Jim EggersUSMC

April 30, 2014 at 1:41 am

Impressive move by Holaday, that is how you do it. Noticed on the Quick Pitch (with my late night Heidi, what the Mrs. doesn’t know etc) that Mr. Clark said something to Ajax, so it may have been called. My rule on squeezes was that only I as 3b coach could call it, did not want to kill any ball players. Heidi also mentioned that we are 6-2 in one run tilts.

Latest Comments

Coleman http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=12413132&categoryid=2521705
On the other hand, Verlander is "confident" and "ready to go," so there's that.

Smoking Loon Good article, Kevin.
Did anyone else have the thought last year that perhaps the biggest problem with Verlander was... predictability? He

Kevin in Dallas Neither does this story.
http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2015/02/detroit_tigers_bring_back_righ_1.html

Kevin in Dallas This picture does not instill a whole bunch of confidence.
http://www.mlive.com/tigers/#/0

Coleman Check out this one: http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2015/02/report_relief_pitcher_joba_cha.html#incart_more_sports
He shaved the beard! And looks like he dropped a few pounds too.

StorminNorman$ http://m.tigers.mlb.com/news/article/110232762/joba-chamberlain-signs-with-detroit-tigers
low price, potential high yield... or maybe not. Whatever the case, Joba certainly said all the right things.

Jim EggersUSMC I concur K in D, am hoping for a good but not great season from JV. Seemed to me he

StorminNorman$ Great info/research Kevin! One point to clarify and factor into the analysis: JV did make $20M last year, but

Coleman Verlander had core muscle surgery last January. Could it be, at his age, and with the type of pitcher he

Jim EggersUSMC I am sorry to hear that, was looking forward to your blunt and accurate reports... as far as next year